When shipping automobiles as cargo, it has been thought necessary to employ specially adapted trailers, ships, and railroad cars on which the automobiles are loaded, the trailer, ship or railroad car having hydraulically or mechanically operated jacks or ramps for placing and supporting the automobiles in their intended positions and perhaps built-in-tie-down equipment, to avoid damage to the cars in transit. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,668,734 (Bridge); 2,695,568 (Keith); 3,081,715 (Moorhead et al); and 3,180,285 (Gutridge).
However, standardized enclosed, dry-freight, intermodal shipping containers have become an important adjunct to modern marine, railroad, and over-the-road transportation networks, and the manifest advantages of such containers make it desirable to extend their usage to include the carrying of automobiles therein, as cargo. Such is an object of the invention. That is, an intermodal shipping container is loaded with its cargo by the shipper, who seals the container doors so that any opening of the container during shipment is detectable. The integrity of the cargo can therefore be assured, and insurance rates are reduced. Moreover, the enclosed van or container has uniform and therefore convenient size, is strong, and protects the contained cargo from accidental damage, dirt, and moisture. For these and other reasons, intermodal shipping containers are ideally suited for the shipment of automobiles overseas aboard ship, and for any subsequent shipment by rail and/or highway to their ultimate destinations.
Such containers have been used to ship one, or perhaps two tandemly placed automobiles at a time, the cars being "chocked" in place on the floor of the container by wood blocks nailed to the floor or the like. But, the weight of even two automobiles is far less than the cargo weight capacity of the container and, further, because of the relatively small volume of the automobiles as compared with that of a conventional sized container, such "containerized" shipping of automobiles using existing methods is relatively expensive. Attempts have been made to load more than two automobiles in a container by tilting the autos "tail up" as they are placed and secured therein, to utilize more of the volume and weight capacity of the container. However, such a system involves the installation of tie-down equipment on the floor or walls of the container, and at least the use, if not the installation within the van, of hydraulic jacks, pivotable tracks or other specially adapted equipment for placing and securing the automobile cargo. Needless to say, any such specialized equipment requires substantial capital expenditure. Moreover, using such "tilt-up" systems for shipping four automobiles, as much as six hours time may be required for a work crew to load the container, and as much as another six hours time may be required to off-load the automobiles therefrom depending, of course, upon the skill and training of the work crew, and the availability of hydraulic jacks and other specialized equipment.
The prior art also includes systems and apparatus, manufactured by Aeroquip Corporation of Jackson, Mich. and others, for installing a removable upper deck in a van, spaced above its floor. The installation is made by attaching removable deck beams extending transversely between opposite pairs of slotted tracks in which the deck beam ends are designed to fit, and which are permanently installed, vertical or horizontal tracks in the container. Other elevated decking systems in containers have usually been permanently installed, or involve substantial modifications to the container itself. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,405,661 (Erickson et al), and 4,094,546 (Glassmeyer et al). However, insofar as is known, such elevated decking systems have never been employed when loading automobiles in such containers.